
REPORT 



OF 



Monument Commissioners 



Appointed to Erect a Monument 
on Battlefield of Salem Church, 
and to Place a Tablet on the 
Battlefield of Spottsylvania, Va. 



TRANSMITTED BY THE GOVERNOR 
TO THE LEGISLATURE, SESSION OF J9J0 



TRENTON. N. J. 
MacCbeu.is!1 & QuiGi,EY, State Printers. 

igio 



yb—3'^/ifo 



REPORT 



OF 



Monument Commissioners 



Appointed to Erect a Monument 
on Battlefield of Salem Church, 
and to Place a Tablet on the 
Battlefield of Spottsylvania, Va. 



TRANSMITTED BY THE GOVERNOR 
TO THE LEGISLATURE, SESSION OF J9I0 



TRENTON. N. J. 
MacCreiaish & QuiGivBY, State Printers. 

igio 



4 '/y \ 



■ 56' 



^. 



, of"^^ 



State of New Jersey, 

Executive Department, 

January 25th, 19 10. 
To the Legislature: 

Pursuant to statute, 1 herewith transmit the report of the 
Commission appointed under Chapter no, of the Laws of 1908, 
entitled "An act to authorize the erection of a monument on the 
battlefield of Salem Church, in the State of Virginia, and a 
tablet on the battlefield of Spottsylvania, in the State of Vir- 
ginia, toi commemorate the services of the Fifteenth Regiment, 
New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, in the battles of Salem Church 
and Spottsylvania, and other engagements of the Civil War, 
and to- appropriate money to pay the cost of the erection and 
dedication of the same." 

The report shows that the Commission has completed its 
labors, and in transmitting- the report permit me tO' say that per- 
sonal inspection of the work and personal presence at the dedica- 
tion enables me to commend to the Legislature the thorough and 
efficient way in which the Commission performed its work. 
Respectfully, 

JOHN FRANKLIN FORT, 

Governor. 



(3) 



REPORT. 



To His Excellency, John Franklin Fort, Governor of Nezo^ 
Jersey: 

Sir — The undersigned Commissioners, appointed by yoiu" Ex- 
cellency under the provisions of an act of the Legislature, ap- 
proved April 8th, 1908, entitled "An act to authorize the erection 
of a monument on the battlefield of Salem Church, in the State 
O'f Virginia, and a tablet on the battlefield of Spottsylvania, in 
the State of Virginia, to commemorate the services of the Fif- 
teenth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteer Infantiy, in the battles 
of Salem Church and Spottsylvania, and other engagements of 
the Civil War, and to appropriate money to- pay the cost of the 
erection and dedication of the same," hereby report their pro- 
ceedings under this act. 

The Commissioners met on July 30th, 1908, and organized by 
the election oi the following officers : Honorable John F. 
Dryden, Chairman ; Stephen W. Gordon, Secretary ; and William 
H. H. Wyckoff, Treasurer. 

Designs and bids for the proposed monument and tablet were 
advertised for, which resulted in a nmnber of each being sub- 
mitted, and the awarding of a contract for the furnishing and 
erection of both to Thomas Manson & Son, of Red Bank. 

Suitable inscriptions for the monument and tablet were pre- 
pared by a committee and approved by the Commissioners, and 
Commissioner Whitehead was selected to inspect the work of 
laying the foundations of the memorials. The work of grading, 
laying foundations and erecting the shafts was carefully in- 
spected from beginning to completion by an inspector on the 
ground. 

Pursuant to resolution, the Commissioners, with the Secretary 
and Treasurer, met at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and from 
thence proceeded to Salem Church and Spottsylvania. The sites 
purchased by the Fifteenth Regiment, New Jerse)^ Volunteers' 
Veteran Association, were approved, and arrangements were 
made for the grading of the grounds and enclosure of the same. 
The site of the monument at Salem Church comprises an acre of 
land, on the road leading from Fredericksburg to Spottsylvania 
Court House, and the site of the tablet at Spottsylvania com- 

(5) 



prises a plot seventy-five feet square, designated on the "Battle- 
field Map" as the ''Bloody Angle." 

The monument and tablet were appropriately dedicated on 
May 1 2th, 1909, the anniversary of the battle of Spottsylvania. 
The ceremonies were attended by Governor John Franklin Fort 
and Staff, and members of the Legislature and State Govern- 
ment of New Jersey, by representatives of the Governor and 
State Government of Virginia, by the survivors of the Fifteenth 
New Jersey Regiment, and by the Commissioners. 

Addresses were made by Governor Fort, of New Jersey ; Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Ellison, of Virginia ; General Joseph W. Plume, 
representing' the Commissioners in the absence (account of ill- 
ness) of the Chairman, Honorable John F. Di-yden; and Com- 
missioner Jolm S. Gibson ; Comrades Theodore F. Swayze and 
Albert Whitehead, of the Fifteenth Regiment; Hon. R. Wayne 
Parker, of New Jersey; Col. Eugene Massie, representing the 
Governor of Virginia; Hon. Joseph S. Frelinghuysen, of New 
Jersey, and Col. Alexander S. Bacon, of New York. 

The monument and tablet were unveiled by Misses Jennie 
Cawley and Miriam E. Gordon, daug-hters of Fifteenth Regi- 
ment Veterans, representing the North, and by 'Misses Lena 
Rowe and Grace Jones, daughters of Confederate Veterans, rep- 
resenting the South. 

Other features of the event w^ere the retiu-n to the Fourteenth 
Georgia Confederate Regiment of a battle-flag of that command 
captured by the Fifteenth New Jersey Regiment at the battle of 
Spottsylvania, and the presentation to Governor Fort, by Col. 
Massie, of a sword picked up on the battlefield of Salem Church. 

The deeds for the sites of both the monument and the tablet 
have been deposited w-ith the Govei'nor, and a financial statement 
by the Treasurer of the Commission is hereto appended. 
Respectfully submitted, 

John F. Dryden, Chair man, 
J. W. Plume, 
John S. Gibson, 
W. H. Cawley, ' 
Henry H. Hoeemann, 
A. W. Whitehead, 

Commissioners. 

Dated, Newark, N. J., January 6th. 1910. 



Stati; of New Jersey. 
To FiETEENTH New Jersey Regiment Monument Com- 
mission (W. H. H. Wyckoef, Treasurer). 

Dr. 
To amount of appropriation by Act of Legislature (of which 
$4,570.00 has been received) *^ 

^ ' $6,500 op 

Cr. 

Paid Thos. Manson & Son, monument contract, $, .70 no 

Pa.d Thos. Hanson & Son, tablet contract, ... 7?!° Z 

Paid Thos. Manson & Son, grading, fence, etc , ' 

Paid W. H. Cawley, expenses of Commissioners, including inspec- 
tion, trips to Virginia, etc., 

Balance of appropriation applied to "pariialiy' defray" expenses 'of 
dedication, ... 

■ ■ ■ 1,202 35 



155 00 



572 6s 



$6,500 00 
WiLEiAM H. H. Wyckofe. 
Treasurer of Monument Fund. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 702 229 1 < 



